Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu urged farmers, reluctant to part with their land for the capital, to have faith in him and ignore all provocations.
Mr Naidu said that the first beneficiaries of the capital would be farmers, labourers and the locals.
Speaking after a meeting with a Cabinet sub-committee on land pooling on Saturday, he said the land pooling in the first phase would cover 40,000 people in 27 to 30 villages in Krishna and Guntur districts. The government would adopt a single policy for all in the land pooling system.
“Some leaders are asking how much land is required for the capital, but I don’t want to answer to this. Future will decide,” Mr Naidu said.
He said he is opposed to land acquisition, and wants land pooling as it would benefit the farmers more. “What the farmers have in their mind, I also have in my mind. Our leaders have to communicate this to the farmers,” Mr Naidu added.
He said that the government would pay Rs 1.5 lakh to the farmers in the land pooling area as one-time settlement under waiver of farm loans. He said that the state government would ask the Centre to exempt the farmers, who give up land, from income tax.
He said, if a farmer gives up two acres of land, one acre will go to development. The other acre will be equally divided between the farmer and the government.
“Out of 4.93 crore population, people have donated around '3 crore for the construction of the capital. Everyone should give at least one brick or the equal value, that’s why I am calling it as ‘people’s capital’.” Mr Naidu added.
